A Titusville man jigging for walleye on the Allegheny
River got an unexpected early Christmas present when
he instead landed a new state record sucker.

Raymond Szalewicz was fishing a familiar spot in the river
near West Hickory, Forest County, on December 13 at
a location where he had previously landed a number
of nice walleye, including a 30-incher.
Casting a black jig in the direction of some woody
debris, he was letting the lure settle toward the
bottom when he felt a telltale bump and his
line began to move upstream.

"I immediately assumed it was a walleye and I knew it
was heavier than the big one I caught there before
at the same spot, but even by walleye standards it
did not fight much. It just held fast in the
current heading upstream," Szalewicz
said. He soon turned the fish and "when
it rolled, I saw its belly the first time. I still
thought it was a walleye. It came in easily,
but its weight and the current made it very
difficult to maneuver it to the collapsible net I
carry."

Soon he realized the fish was a sucker, but not just any
sucker. After he measured it in the net, he
began to suspect that he might have a special
catch. A weighing on a certified scale
confirmed it: at 12 lbs, 14.4 oz, it was the largest
fish of its kind on record in Pennsylvania. The
previous record sucker was caught in 1995 by Troy A. Bemis of
Endeavor. It weighed 12 lb. 9 oz., and was also from the Allegheny River in Forest
County.

Pennsylvania certifies state
records based on total body weight. Potential
record fish must exceed the established mark by at
least one ounce, as weighed on a certified scale. To
be considered for state record certification, a fish
must be caught using legal means, in season, from
Pennsylvania waters open to the public without
charge or fee. Fish taken from farm ponds,
fee-fishing lakes, ponds or streams or in waters
restricted to use by club members or their guests do
not qualify. A biologist or Waterways Conservation
Officer from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission (PFBC) must examine the fish. The PFBC is
the only entity that can certify an official state
record fish in the Commonwealth.